10255: 10 years of Modular Building

In 2007, a new breed of LEGO set was released: the modular building. The first offering, the Cafe Corner (10182) was revolutionary: the subject matter of Lego City, perhaps set in an older, simpler time, but with a scale that was appealing to AFOLS. The design standard – specifying the placement of the technic bricks to bind adjacent models together, as well as defining the size of the footpath and alleyway at the back of the building – has inspired the theme as well as countless MOCs and LEGO cityscapes around the world.

That Very First Modular- the Cafe Corner had very little in the way of internal detail, but set a standard this has changed as the series has developed with detailed interiors for shops, homes and other miscellaneous businesses one of the highlights of the series. In those early days, the LEGO Factory site referenced design ideas for interior design .

For me, seeing these sets at a public show is what dragged me out of my Dark Ages. I remember constructing the Green Grocer, a year or two later, and discovering new (to me) parts usage as well as special secrets that only the set’s builders would know about such as….(but that would be telling!)

As a now annual New Year’s treat, there has been a steady roll of buildings to add to the collection: Market street (10190), Green Grocer (10185), the Fire Brigade (10197), the Grand Emporium (10211), the Pet Shop (10218), the Town Hall (10224), Palace Cinema (10232), the Parisian restaurant (10243), the Detective’s Office (10264) and the Brick Bank (10251). The majority of these sets have been designed by Jamie Berard, who has taken on the task of assembling an homage to the entire range in this year’s 10th Anniversary Spectacular: Assembly Square (10255).

LEGO Designer Jamie Berard, pictured with all of the Modular buildings, including the newly announced 10255: Assembly Square.Set up as three floors of shops/professional consulting suites, the businesses include: a bakery, florist and café; music store, photo studio and dental surgery and an upper level dance studio and an apartment featuring a rooftop terrace. Even at first glance, you can see some design cues taken from the older modular sets:

There are eight adult Minifigures and a baby included in this set. Like all Minifigures in the modular line, these feature the classic ‘smiley’ face. All of the mini figures have great characterisation, and there are lots of new elements to be found. One of my favourite figures would have to be the musician, with his receding ‘Peter Venckman’ hair line.

There are also some terrific new elements to be seen in the designer video including :a

Recolours include a 1×1 tile in nougat; a silver 2×2 radar dish; a curved window arch with spokes in black; and a new window for the dentist’s office: “Prevent yellowing.” Sound advice for those of you without ageing, sun damaged LEGO Bricks.

As you can see, this babysitter is a serious LEGO Fan: she has got a boxed copy of 10182: Cafe Corner to put together. It must be super micro scale!It is shaping up to be a huge set, measuring 35cm (13″, approximately 40 bricks) tall, 38cm (14″, 48 studs) wide and 25 cm (9″, 32 studs) deep. The additional 16 studs of width is reflected in its piece count, and the price tag. There are 4002 pieces: that’s 1200 more pieces than the largest previous modular (The Town hall xat 2766 pieces). Priced at $US279.99/ UK£169.99 this is a significantly greater investment than previous modulars (for example: Brick bank (10251) is priced at $US169/UK£119), but you also get so much more. It will be available at shop.lego.com on January 1 2017, and is recommended for ages 16 and up. Unfortunately, there will not be an opportunity for LEGO VIP members to order early.

Read on to see the details from the Official LEGO Press Release, see some more images and read about some of the easter eggs that designer Jamie Berard has tucked away in this set for us to enjoy:

Take a trip to the amazing Assembly Square, developed to celebrate ten years of LEGO® Modular Buildings, featuring a wealth of unsurpassed, intricate details and hidden surprises. Easy-to-remove building sections provide access to the highly detailed interior, comprising a ground level with a bakery, florist’s shop and café, a middle level with a music store, photo studio and dental office, and an upper-level dance studio and apartment with access to a rooftop terrace with barbecue. The exterior of the building features a detailed sidewalk with outdoor café furniture, fountain, streetlamps and a highly elaborate facade with beautifully detailed windows and doors, three buildable shop signs, spired tower and a decorative roofline. Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO Creator Expert Modular Building series 10243 Parisian Restaurant, 10246 Detective’s Office and 10251 Brick Bank. Includes eight minifigures and a baby figure.

Middle level features a music store with a buildable drum set, two guitars and saxophone element; photo studio with buildable classic camera and adjustable tripod; and a dental office with buildable reclining chair, waiting area, telephone and a sink.

This set offers an age-appropriate build and play experience for ages 16.

New decorated elements include a dentist torso, dentist window and 2×3 tile with the 10182 Café Corner box front.

Includes lots of curved and cor
ner angle tiles, garage doors used as box windows and LEGO® Technic excavator scoops used as roofing elements.Did you know that 10181: Eiffel Tower was released on the same day as 10182 Cafe Corner and 10190 Market Street? 27 October 2007! Hobby train (10183) was released around the same time

Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO® Creator Expert Modular Building series 10243 Parisian Restaurant, 10246 Detective’s Office and 10251 Brick Bank.

Measures over 13” (35cm) high, 14”
38cm) wide and 9” (25cm) deep.

There are a number of interesting things in here, but one of importance for AFOLS looking to
complete their collection of modulars is that only three of the current five modulars on sale are mentions. The absence of mentioning of the Pet Shop and Palace Cinema makes me wonder if retirement is imminent for them, or if it is just to keep the box art current for a little longer.

Nothing to do with the cakes? Of course not…Now, while the general details of the set are presented above, Jamie Berard has made available a list of features he has included as tribute to all of the Modular buildings that have gone before. These may include printed tiles depicting box art, microscale versions of the sets displayed on shelves, references to previous colour schemes, design features and Minifigures included in these sets. As is now the norm in ongoing series in other media, there appears to be an effort made here to depict a coherent Modular Buildings Universe:

10255 Assembly Square References to Past Modular Buildings

10182 Café Corner

Café on corner of plaza w/coffee mug sign

Yellow and white striped awnings

Micro version of CC on apartment shelf

Printed tile to represent CC Box

Corner door built using turntables

Cherries in trash

Green Baseplates

10190 Market Street

Micro version of MS on apartment shelf

Bakery is linked to croissant sign from MS

10185 Green Grocer

Micro version of GG on apartment shelf

Rooftop BBQ

Sand Green color of mid-building

Updated baby pram (now including baby!)

10197 Fire Brigade

Rooftop door access

Kitchen in apartment

10211 Grand Emporium

Detailing around roof above Dance Studio

Wedding cake to go with wedding outfits in GE Window

10218 Pet Shop

Parrot in flower shop & Chihuahua

Sand Blue color of Music/Dance Studios

Windows for Music/Dance Studios shared with PS

10224 Town Hall

Tower roof style shared with TH

Wedding cake for married couple in TH

Flower shop for married couple in TH

10232 Palace Cinema

Center of pattern in front of Cafe shared with PC

Vertical line wall texture from PC is used for interior of Music/Dance studios

10243 Parisian Restaurant

Black roof of middle building in similar style to PR

White Croissants in Bakery

Fold out sofa similar to fold down bed

Greenery on pergola between café and flower shop

10264 Detective’s Office

Mirror

Candy/cookie source is Pastry Shop

Nougat color of Dentist office

10251 Brick Bank

Portrait of Bank Manager in photo studio

Trans-Green and clear glass in Flower Shop

[Edit 19th October 2016: Australian pricing has been listed at shop.lego.com at $AU399.99]

So: start saving, and perhaps consider waiting until New year before you spend that Christmas Bonus!

So, what do you think? Is this a fitting set for a tenth birthday celebration? Will this be your first LEGO purchase for 2017? Why not leave comments below, or on the Rambling Brick Facebook Page.